59-Year-Old Man Imprisoned 5.5 Years for Filing Lawsuit Against Former Chinese Dictator

(Minghui.org) After the Supreme Court of China issued a new policy on May 1, 2015 that every complaint filed by citizens will be accepted and reviewed, Mr. Huang Lian sued Jiang Zemin, the former head of the Chinese Communist Party, for launching the persecution of his faith in Falun Gong. The Leizhou City, Guangdong Province resident was subsequently sentenced to 5.5 years for filing the criminal complaint against Jiang. 

Mr. Huang was arrested on December 5, 2015. His lawyer was the first one in Leizhou City who dared to defend a Falun Gong practitioner and enter a not guilty plea. The lawyer pointed out that Mr. Huang’s lawsuit against Jiang was exercising his constitutional right, which should be protected by the law. However, the judge told the lawyer in private that all cases related to Falun Gong were beyond his control and that he must follow the decision from the 610 Office, an extralegal agency created specifically to orchestrate the persecution. 

While Mr. Huang was in prison, he suffered various forms of torture. The following is his own account of what he went through.

Why I Sued Jiang Zemin

My name is Huang Lian. I am 59. I started to practice Falun Gong in April 1999 and I benefited both physically and mentally. I follow the principle of “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance” in my daily life. Not only was my character improved but all my decades-long diseases were gone. It was the best time of my life.

However, the former head of the Chinese Communist Party, Jiang Zemin, launched the persecution of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999. Since then, I was not allowed to practice my faith any more. The slandering lies spread by the government-controlled media 24/7 deceived many people. I was treated differently by my relatives, friends, and colleagues.

When I heard the Supreme Court of China enacted the new policy that every complaint will be accepted and reviewed, I filed a lawsuit against Jiang Zemin. However, my personal information was sent to my local police department, which located me and arrested me. The Leizhou City Procuratorate took my complaint as evidence against me and the city court sentenced me to 5.5 years in prison and fined me 5,000 yuan.

I was subsequently detained at different places, including a brainwashing center with the doorplate “Legal Education Center,” the Leizhou City Detention Center and Sihui Prison. I was released on June 14, 2021. 

Details of Arrest

When I was working in a metal sheet factory on December 15, 2015, several police officers forcibly took me to their police station. They interrogated me without a warrant. They asked me when and where I mailed my complaint against Jiang Zemin. I told them I had the right to practice my faith and sue Jiang. I added that the persecution of Falun Gong has no legal basis. But they took me to a brainwashing center the same day and ransacked my apartment, confiscating my personal belongings including my computer, printer and even blank DVDs.

I went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution but the inmates tortured me worse. Once an inmate dragged me from my bed to the bathroom and locked me there for six days without giving me any food or drink. To make me suffer more, they used my hunger strike as an excuse to force feed me. When they ran the thick and hard tube through my nostril into my stomach, I couldn’t breathe. The unbearable pain was indescribable.

Torture illustration: force feeding

I was the sole breadwinner in my family. My child was still attending school. My 90-year-old mother relied on me for care. My detention left them in deep distress.

Cleaning the Bathroom Daily for Two Years

I was transferred to Leizhou Detention Center on December 23, 2015 and had a comprehensive physical examination. Even though I was healthy, under the instruction of the guards, the head of the inmates treated me as a sick person and isolated me. 

In the cell, we usually took turns cleaning the bathroom which was the dirtiest and most tiring job. However, I was forced to do it every day for almost two years. I didn’t complain to them because they were also victims, unaware of the consequences for getting involved in the persecution. Some inmates were moved by my kindness. They became friendly to me and they understood that Falun Gong was being smeared and persecuted by the CCP.

I was tried by the Leizhou City Court on April 14, 2016. My lawyer demanded the bailiffs remove my handcuffs, but they didn’t agree. I was brought to a waiting room and a bailiff threatened to give me a heavy term. I received a 5.5-year sentence in January 2017. I appealed with the Zhanjiang City Intermediate Court, but was rejected. 

On April 9, 2018, I was taken to Sihui Prison in Guangdong. Right after I arrived at the prison, the guards handcuffed me behind the back and forced me to squat in front of the inmates.

When I refused to sign certain case documents, several inmates pressed me against the ground and grabbed my finger to fingerprint on the documents.

I was assigned to the “604” division. A guard surnamed Zeng was in charge of me. Two inmates, Fan Zhenguang and Deng Shixun, were assigned to monitor my daily activities.

Brutal Beating, Toilet Brush Stuffed into My Mouth

The first thing Fan and Deng tried to force me to do was to memorize the prison rules in one week. I refused and said to them, “I didn’t commit any crime or break any law. The court and the prison participated in the persecution. I am not a criminal, and thus I won’t copy or memorize the prison rules.” 

In retaliation, they didn’t allow me to sit down but forced me to squat on one leg for 24 hours a day. They punched and kicked me as long as I moved a little. After two days of torture, I went on a hunger strike to protest. They didn’t care at all, but tortured me even worse. 

The two men used hangers to pinch my fingers. My fingers were deformed and my nails were bleeding. They took off my shoes, forced me to stand on bare ceramic tiles, placed a hanger on my instep and then stepped on my feet. My instep and all toenails were bruised. One toenail on my right foot also fell off. The pain was excruciating. 

They also hit my head very often. Once one side of my face and ear were swollen from the beating. Then they laughed at me, saying that they should beat the other side to make my face look symmetrical.

Between April and June, in order to force me to memorize the prison rules, Fan and Deng tried more torture methods on me. Sometimes they brushed my mouth and nose with a toilet brush. It was so disgusting and I couldn’t help vomiting. 

When they saw me vomiting blood, they poured chili powder into my nose. I suffocated and cried out in pain. They burst into laughter.

Guard Instructed Inmates to Beat Me

The guard surnamed Zeng often brought me to his office and tried to force me to renounce Falun Gong. When I rejected him, he beat me and pushed me against the wall with his leg on my chest. He often instructed the inmates to beat me in the dead corner not covered by the surveillance camera.

Torture illustration: beating

In the hot summer, he instructed Fan and Deng to wrap me with two winter blankets and threatened to torture me if I dared to unwrap them. 

Another inmate, Chen Zhiyong, a murderer, often hit me on my chest and kicked me. He once placed a bamboo stick on my feet and stepped on it. My toes bled as a result. When I cried out due to the pain, he seemed to enjoy it and verbally abused me. He said to me, “I dare to kill you. It’s no big deal beating you.”

One morning when all inmates went out to work, Fan and Deng stayed to torture me. They forced me to curse Falun Gong and the founder. After I said no to them, they clipped my fingers with the hanger nonstop for the whole morning. My fingers bled again.

I became extremely weak after long term torture. My weight dropped from 110 pounds to 77 pounds. No matter how weak I was, they still took me to the hospital to draw a significant amount of blood. After several times, they couldn’t draw blood from my left arm, but they claimed that it was because of my heart problem. I suspected that the blood drawing might be connected to the forced organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners.

Mental Torment

I was often forced to watch videos and read materials slandering Falun Gong. When I pointed out those were all lies, guard Zeng would order Fan and Deng to beat me. Even when I turned my head aside, it would result in beating. 

In addition to the beating, they would dip my head into a bucket full of water. I was almost choked to death. Any resistance would result in more brutal beating. Sometimes they put paper slips with slanderous statements on my clothes. 

They attempted to force me to write statements to give up my faith with violence. I wrote how great Falun Gong is. Fan became irritated and stepped on my feet. I was often beaten unconscious.

Torture reenactment: head dipped into water

One night in August 2019, Zeng called me to his office and tried to lure me to write the statement with a term reduction. I refused to comply. I told him, “I didn’t break any law. I am innocent. I don’t care if you give me a sentence reduction or not.”

That night, when the bed time started at 10:30 p.m., Zeng dragged me to a metal frame near the gate, where it couldn’t be recorded by surveillance camera. Then he pressed my neck and head against the frame, pushing me from one side to another for more than an hour.

Between April and July 2020, the guards and inmates constantly ordered me to write a statement admitting I was guilty for going against the leaders of the Communist Party. I said, “I believe in Falun Gong and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. As a practitioner, I am not interested in politics.” As a result, I was subjected to several rounds of beating and kicking. When I tried to stop a guard from beating me, he said, “Why don’t you hit back? Or you can sue me after you get out.”

One day in July, Zeng tried to force me to read an article slandering Falun Gong three times and to copy it one time. After I refused, he started a new round of torture. He instructed inmates Guan Jiexiang and Chen Zhiyong to force me to squat until 2 a.m. During lunch time, they stabbed my feet with the tips of pens. They put a picture of Falun Gong’s founder on a stool and ordered me to sit on it. I said no. Then they quietly put up the picture on my bed while I was sleeping. 

After long time squatting, once I collapsed on the ground due to fatigue. Inmate Chen Zhiyong grabbed my lapel and dragged me to an area not under surveillance. Two other inmates followed and started to beat me. I thought this time I might be beaten into disability. I went on a hunger strike to protest the violence, and the guards then ordered the inmates to force feed me with a thick tube.

Deprived of Sleep

I was transferred to a cell with inmate Huang Min on September 20, 2020. Huang was the most famous bully inmate. He beat me on my head or hit my head against the wall when I refused to watch the slanderous videos. He forced me to squat from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. and sometimes overnight. He also put a stool on top of my feet and stepped on the stool, or burned my hands with cigarettes.

A month later on October 28, I was transferred to another cell. Two inmates, Liu Zhuguo and Lu Yifeng, forced me to squat from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. After 2 a.m., even though I was allowed to lie in bed, I was not allowed to sleep. As soon as I closed my eyes, the inmate on duty would wake me up with cold water. I was deprived of sleep for over 40 days. My blood pressure rose and my pulse was about 120 beats per minute. The doctor said I had premature ventricular contractions (extra, abnormal heartbeats). 

Related reports:

Leizhou, Guangdong Province: First Local Falun Gong Case With Defense Lawyer Entering Not Guilty Plea

Mr. Huang Lian from Guangdong Province Detained for Six Months, Still Awaiting Verdict